MANY critics across the pond have been pretty harsh towards this live action/animated film, but I sometimes wonder who they are writing for.

Is it their own Pixar-sated eyes... or under eights who helped to make the Alvin And The Chipmunks series such a big hit?

If your children loved those two films, then they’ll really enjoy this one, too. It’s pure fun!

Having stood the test of time since he first starred in his own 1961 TV series on the back of a 1958 debut in The Huckleberry Hound Show, picnic-pincher Yogi has a universal warmth that money cannot buy.

Here he’s voiced by Dan Aykroyd, with Justin Timberlake as the smaller Boo Boo who always tries to keep Yogi’s taste for excess under control.

While our hero still claims to be ‘smarter than the average bear’, we all know he’s likely to come a cropper once Mayor Brown arrives determined to sell off the land in Jellystone Park.

If the story is a by-numbers save-the-environment drama (see Furry Vengeance et al for more of the same) this Yogi has a freshness about him which wholly compensates.

If I’m not mistaken, there’s more than a hint of President Obama... about-Yogi’s-vocal... mannerisms.

Add the fact that Canadian actor Tom Cavanagh’s Ranger Smith looks remarkably like a younger Tony Blair and there’s a bizarre political undercurrent going on for adults to enjoy while their childhood Yogi memories come flooding back.

Director Eric Brevig shared a special achievement Oscar for the visual effects in Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall back in 1991.

Unlike some movies converted into 3D during post-production, Brevig’s enthusiastic use of the latest technology at the sharp end of filming means Yogi Bear has genuine stereoscopic depth – and he’s also got fur which turns believably wet and eyes which sparkle.

Quite a few things will be heading towards your 3D glasses, too! Enjoy.